Chigwell, Pizza Restaurant Guide

“Reliably excellent pizza” – “better than the other high street chains” – is what you’ll find at this growing Clapton-based operation, now with 12 sites from Balham and Crystal Palace in the south to Tufnell Park (which, as of summer 2024, is the latest to open). They’re perhaps “not smart as places to eat”, but that hardly matters – and the “toppings are interesting without being off-puttingly un-pizza-ish”.

“Reliably excellent pizza” – “better than the other high street chains” – is what you’ll find at this growing Clapton-based operation, now with 12 sites from Balham and Crystal Palace in the south to Tufnell Park (which, as of summer 2024, is the latest to open). They’re perhaps “not smart as places to eat”, but that hardly matters – and the “toppings are interesting without being off-puttingly un-pizza-ish”.

Just across the canal (technically the River Lea) from the Olympic Park, this Hackney Wick mainstay exudes vibey East End cred, especially when you can pose in summer on the large, sunny terrace. On the menu: funky pizza and brews from the right-side-of-grungy in-house microbrewery, at good prices. Unsurprisingly, it can be utterly rammed at peak times.

“Reliably excellent pizza” – “better than the other high street chains” – is what you’ll find at this growing Clapton-based operation, now with 12 sites from Balham and Crystal Palace in the south to Tufnell Park (which, as of summer 2024, is the latest to open). They’re perhaps “not smart as places to eat”, but that hardly matters – and the “toppings are interesting without being off-puttingly un-pizza-ish”.

2022 Review: In gentrifying Clapton – this ‘pizza pub’ (on the former site of The Elephant’s Head) is the creation of the founders of two pizza multiples: Santa Maria (Pasquale Chionchio & Angelo Ambrosio) and Firezza (Edin Basic). Craft beers and live music complete the offering.

2021 Review: “A top local” – this small, basic-looking three-year-old between Wood Green and Tottenham is worth remembering for its “great pizzas along with superb pastas”.

Outstanding and creative sandwiches, “fresh pastries” and “delicious brews” make this social-enterprise (it supports at-risk young East Londoners) one of the capital’s highest-rated café-bakeries. The “wonderful brunches” mean “it can get very busy round midday”, both at HQ in Dalston Junction and at the Green Lanes, Harringay offshoot. At the former, its street cred is enhanced by a grungy location down a side street from off the main drag. The latter is more civilised, with evening service, pizza and wine.

2022 Review: A late 2020 arrival in Hackney – this new haunt bills itself as ‘a neighbourhood oasis in east london’. It’s a large space (200 covers), complete with bar made out of recycled materials and garden courtyard. Everything is ‘curated’ including the craft pizza. No survey feedback as yet, but the general social buzz about the place is a good one.

“Reliably excellent pizza” – “better than the other high street chains” – is what you’ll find at this growing Clapton-based operation, now with 12 sites from Balham and Crystal Palace in the south to Tufnell Park (which, as of summer 2024, is the latest to open). They’re perhaps “not smart as places to eat”, but that hardly matters – and the “toppings are interesting without being off-puttingly un-pizza-ish”.

2021 Review: A 140-seater ‘craft bar and kitchen’ near some soon-to-be developed railway arches in hip Bethnal Green that opened in June 2019, too late for any survey feedback. It’s open from breakfast on – at lunch and thereafter the main menu offering is pizza.

This “brilliant neighbourhood restaurant” in Finsbury Park has plied regulars and blow-ins alike with “great pizza, pasta and cocktails” for more than a quarter of a century – “we’re always welcomed back like long-lost family members!”. “North London has no shortage of excellent pizza places, but this one wins by a crispy crust”.

This lively bottle shop and local in De Beauvoir Town does a good trade in Neapolitan-style pizzas and a small selection of Italian starters and mains – not surprisingly, it attracts “loadsa families, so choose your time carefully”.

“More hit ’n’ miss than they used to be, but still a go-to chain” – the Elliot brothers’ successful group is heading towards 20 branches in the capital, but “still producing quality dishes despite becoming quite a brand”: “lovely scorched, pillowy-based pizzas with plenty of power in the ingredients” and “reasonably priced for the quality!” Latest to launch, in June 2024, was a branch by Euston.

“Top Neapolitan pizza”, say fans of this Kensal Rise 11-year-old and its Crouch End offshoot, which offers a “limited and delicious menu (they stick to what they know) in cool surroundings”.